Thundercat is a man you’ve heard, even if you don’t know his name. Collaborations with a plethora of the biggest artists in the world including Kendrick Lamar, Mac Miller, Gorillaz, Bruno Mars and so, so many more has allowed Bruner to leave his mark all over popular music— it wouldn’t be a stretch to say he is the defining bass player in his lane, and he absolutely has the technical chops to back it up. New record ‘Distracted’ has his overwhelming talents on full display.

It’s ironic that this ADHD-themed project couldn’t be less jarring or disorienting if it tried: Thundercat’s penchant for smooth soul arrangements and effortless instrumental additions continues here on an album that only grows softer with every track. Bruner is not your average songwriter, and ‘Distracted’ acts as a delightful showcase for his jazz influences: just look at opener ‘Candlelight,’ which feels like it modulates a hundred times in less than three minutes. One of the greatest achievements this album flaunts is its ability to make its complex, intricate music motifs and sound them down into accessible, highly-listenable pop tunes— you could be forgiven for missing the extreme number of chord changes and experimental melodies crammed into these songs, simply because they’re presented in such a comfortable light. No track that features Thundercat, Lil Yachty and Flying Lotus should’ve ended up as funky and bright as ‘I Did This To Myself:’ the track’s bass lines are positively bonkers, yet they always somehow manage to fit into the arrangement seamlessly.

‘Distracted’ is really a record of two halves, with the upbeat stomps and tales of failed romance that kick off the album slowly giving way to passive tunes that explore mental health in a more intimate manner. That first half really is quite something, as the phenomenal melodies of ‘No More Lies’ should clue you in on: Thundercat manages to craft a better Tame Impala song than anything Parker could muster up on last year’s ‘Deadbeat,’ showcasing the variety of lush keyboards and crisp drum loops that remain a constant driving force across the record. Bruner’s name carries a lot of weight at this point, and he’s used his influence to draw an impressive array of guest features into the fold— Mac Miller and A$AP Rocky exude charisma on ‘She Knows Too Much’ and ‘Funny Friends’ respectively, lending their voices to two of the most anthemic and instantly memorable cuts on the album. The shining collaborative moment is surely ‘What Is Left To Say’ though, which sees Thundercat and The Lemon Twigs nailing a vintage pop sound, right down to the brass. You won’t find many records as warm as this one in 2026.

As the album plunges deeper into the themes of mental health its title alludes to, Bruner begins to strip his songs back even further. ‘A.D.D. Through the Roof’ is, in a cruel twist of irony, one of the blandest cuts on offer here, with only its virtuosic keyboard and bass solos to inject life into these ho-hum number: you could say much the same for relaxing WILLOW-collab ‘ThunderWave’ and introspective piano ballad ‘Pozole,’ which serve to make the record’s second half somewhat less engaging than its first. To be perfectly clear, ‘Distracted’ is not a listen that falls off completely as it goes on— rather, Bruner’s focus clearly shifts somewhere between the excellent psychedelic pop of ‘I Wish I Didn’t Waste Your Time,’ the crazed jazz of ‘Anakin Learns His Fate’ and the shimmering crooning of ‘Walking on the Moon,’ leaving these last few tracks feeling a tad directionless. Even on a lyrical front, Thundercat was certainly in a different headspace when writing the peppy antics of ‘Great Americans’ and ‘You Left Without Saying Goodbye.’

That last point is particularly noteworthy given just how efficiently Bruner navigates the conflicting themes he’s playing with on ‘Distracted:’ the man isn’t just a world-class bassist, but a gifted lyricist to boot. Much of the album navigates this idea that Thundercat is hiding his true feelings, and it’s a concept that rubs up against the record’s squeaky-clean aesthetic in a really interesting way— on ‘What Is Left To Say,’ for instance, we can see the artist avoiding these questions entirely.

“Why do you try to hide the feelings you feel inside?

Could it be that you need another mask to hide behind?

And if someone should ask you why

Then you turn around and say, ‘I’ve been up and down so many times’

So save it for another day”

These are heavy points to be making, but ‘Distracted’ never wallows in sorrow (as it certainly could have): it’s always moving on to different ideas and concepts, right up until Thundercat himself declares that he is “overstimulated” by album’s end, and charming in every moment, especially once a series of Star Wars and other pop culture references get a hold of the record. Truthfully, these songs aren’t quite as focused and tight as they needed to be to fully explore their own weighty ideas, but hey, that was indicated in the album’s title— Bruner does an excellent job balancing the project’s tone, leaving you with just enough meat to chew on.

There aren’t many virtuosic musicians who’ve broken into the mainstream like Thundercat has, and ‘Distracted’ goes a long way to showing how the man has accrued so much respect and praise over the years. This is a delightful record— its first half, in particular, is uplifting— with Bruner’s affinity for soul, jazz and pop at the very forefront: it’s the kind of album that might draw you away from whatever productive task you were set upon.